Impact of depression in Elderly patients with low vision

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of depression in the elder patients suffering from low vision and correlate depression with low vision.
 METHOD: A cross-sectional study was performed on 91 subjects who visited Low Vision Center at Mayo Hospital Lahore. All the patients were asked to fill the questionnaire. Qualitative data was analyzed through frequency and percentage. This study was conducted from September to November 2020.
 RESULTS: Forty six out of ninety one (50.5%) patients had trouble in reading regular size print. Fifty three percent were having difficulty to sign documents. Forty percent were having difficulty in recognizing faces. Sixty three (69.2%) patients had difficulty in independent travelling. Reduced vision leading to unhappy feeling sometimes was experienced by 39.6% of the participants. Out of 91, 40 patients of low vision having depression get frustrated when they could not perform certain tasks. Poor daily routine work was found in 50.5%. Patient having mild, severe and very severe glare problem were 51.7%, 24.2% and 6.6% respectively. Severe problem while watching television is found in 39.6% patients. Depressive patients having thoughts of hurting themselves were 3.3%. Thirty eight percent felt that ignorance could develop stress.
 CONCLUSION: There were high chances in low vision patients to develop depression because of visual loss, functional impairment, and difficulty in daily life activities. Visual impairment restricted a person's independence, and worsened the quality of life. If a person is counseled properly, it is beneficial in increasing the functional performance and will also help him or her to avoid developing depression.
 KEYWORDS: Low vision, Depression.